57 MPs push Foreign Secretary to take 'much stronger action' over Scot imprisoned in India
Brother of Scot reveals they have not been able to speak for seven months
Foreign secretary Yvette Cooper has been urged to take “much stronger action” to secure the release of a Scottish man who has been arbitrarily detained in India for more than eight years.
Scores of MPs and two peers from across the political divide at Westminster have written to Ms Cooper to ask if she is treating the plight of Jagtar Singh Johal as a “matter of urgent priority.”
It comes as the 39 year-old’s brother revealed he has not been able to speak to him for seven months, with video calls also barred by Indian authorities.
Mr Johal, from Dumbarton, was arrested after his wedding in Punjab in northern India in November 2017, since which time he has been held over alleged terror offences.
The central allegation is that he transferred money in the knowledge the money would be used to fund a series of attacks against Hindu nationalists and other religious leaders. However, Mr Johal and his family have long maintained his innocence, and say he was subjected to a coerced confession before being confronted with a slew of further charges.
The Sikh activist claims to have been beaten and tortured by Indian police, alleging officers attached electrodes to his ear, nipples and genitals, and threatened to burn him alive.
In the first case against him to reach a verdict, in March 2025, Mr Johal was acquitted of all charges by a court in Punjab. The court found that prosecutors had "miserably failed" to present any reliable evidence despite having had over seven years to develop their case. Despite his acquittal, he faces eight essentially duplicate cases filed by India's National Investigation Agency.
The new letter, signed by 57 MPs and two peers, described Mr Johal’s continued imprisonment as “unlawful, intolerable, and a profound miscarriage of justice.”
The cross-party group pointed to the intervention in the case by a group of United Nations human rights experts who called for the urgent release of Jagtar. They stressed that there was “no rationale” for his continued detention, and warned that he was enduring “unlawful suffering” and a form of “psychological torture” as a result of the prolonged uncertainty.
“We urge you to take much stronger action to resolve this case and bring Jagtar home to his family,” the MPs and peers wrote. “These experts’ intervention illustrates the egregious nature of Jagtar’s continued detention.”
Their letter added: “We ask you to confirm that securing Jagtar’s freedom is being treated as a matter of urgent priority, and that you are doing everything in your power to bring him home to his family in Dumbarton.”
Mr Johal’s brother, Gurpreet Singh Johal, said: “It can get very lonely, campaigning for my brother to be set free. Since Jagtar was moved to Tihar jail last year, they stopped our phone calls - it's been seven months since I had a call with him. Video calls were stopped long before that. Try to imagine how that feels, not being able to even talk to your brother, knowing he's unfairly locked up.”
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office has been contacted for comment.
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